Champions of Change

Champions of Change: Hurricane Sandy

The White House honors seventeen people directly involved in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy.

Justin Auciello is an urban planner and digital journalist. Understanding the power of social media during a crisis, he created Jersey Shore Hurricane News, a Facebook- and Twitter-based news...

Mandy Bickerstaff is a Program Director for Do Your Part, a nonprofit organization that supports disaster relief and long-term recovery. After Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, Mandy volunteered...

Steven Birnbaum strongly believes that resilient communications can help people to help themselves. As Chair of the Global VSAT Forum’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Programs, and...

Dharma Master Cheng Yen, a Buddhist nun from Taiwan, founded the Tzu Chi Foundation in 1966. The foundation is an international humanitarian nonprofit organization that aspires to help the needy...

Brian Buhman is a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq. His desire to continue his service by helping his community and other veterans led him to join Team Rubicon, a disaster...

The VIC Fund (Victory in Crisis) came to life from the dream of one man with a passion for helping kids. It started in 2002 as the Long Blue Line Scholarship Fund to help kids go to college. The...

During Hurricane Sandy, Drew Chabot and his parents were displaced due to their houses being flooded. With his friend Scott Zabelski, the owner of a screen printing business called Blue Wave...

After evacuating her home during Hurricane Sandy, fourteen-year-old Rockaway resident Ariel Creamer founded the organization Survivors Silver Lining, which matches donors with Hurricane Sandy...

Erin Daly sprang into action after Hurricane Sandy struck her hometown of Breezy Point, New York. Erin, a Florida state prosecutor, immediately began her relief efforts by collecting donations of...

Kyle Flood was named the 29th head coach at the Birthplace of College Football on January 31, 2012. Flood made an immediate impact on the Rutgers program as he led the school to its first BIG EAST...

His community devastated after Hurricane Sandy, Mike “Loco” Hoffman has contributed to disaster relief and recovery every single day since the storm struck. From rescuing stranded and frightened...

Adam Marlatt is a Marine Reserve Infantry Sergeant and the founder of Global Disaster Immediate Response Team (DIRT). Using the skills he learned on the battlefield, on a District Stability Team...

Together with a group of designers, sustainability experts, and solar engineers, Walter Meyer, an urban designer based in Brooklyn, New York, helped form the community-based organization “Power...

Once power returned to the offices at New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC), Wayne Meyer and the rest of his team immediately began working on plans to help victims of SuperStorm Sandy restore their...

PortSide NewYork is a nonprofit in Red Hook, Brooklyn, focused on waterfront issues. Since 2005, the organization has operated from the Mary A. Whalen, an oil tanker on the National Register of...

Nicole Schultz is a recent graduate of Johnson County Community College and a native of Olathe, Kansas. Instilled with a strong sense of civic responsibility at a young age, Nicole sought a...

Marcie Allen is the president of MAC Presents, a New York City-based sponsorship and fulfillment agency. After Hurricane Sandy, Marcie raised over $100,000 in donations and supplies for families...